A game of inches. Congratulations
LeonAliu.#CW138
pic.twitter.com/BJR4NadibH— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
May 28, 2022
The crowd at Charter Hall in Colchester, England, went silent after
the hometown hero lost in Saturday’s Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
headliner.
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It took a little over a minute for Leon Aliu to
knock out James Webb
in the CW
138 headliner. Brave Combat Federation vet Aliu
(10-1, 1-0 CW) thumped former 185-pound titleholder Webb with
punches and heavy kicks out of the gate. Aliu targeted his
adversary’s lead leg, forcing Webb (8-4-1, 7-4-1 CW) to change
stance. From time to time, Aliu would aim at his opponent’s body,
but it was all part of his strategy to make the Englishman lower
his guard to defend himself. The gameplan paid dividends shortly
after the one-minute mark. After scoring with a couple of kicks,
Aliu fired a thermonuclear missile of a right that demolished Webb
on the spot. The Iron Team Reggio Emilia standout finished the job
with a pair of unnecessary follow-up punches before referee
Marc
Goddard mercifully called the end of the fight. The official
time indicated the 1:42 mark of Round 1.
LukeShanks is must watch TV
What a round! Showcasing all of his skills, he picks up the
submission winWatch
#CW138 live on @UFCFightPass
pic.twitter.com/dyK1U62Ay4— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
May 28, 2022
In the co-main event, former 125-pound titleholder Luke Shanks
moved up a division to take on Josh Reed.
Shanks (10-3, 5-2 CW) looked sharper than his opponent on the feet,
stinging Reed with quick combinations from afar. In response, Reed
(12-7, 8-7 CW) jumped on his foe for an improbable guillotine
attack, ending with his back on the canvas within seconds. On the
mat, Shanks used effective offense to pass guard and eventually
claim the back of the “Crazy Horse.” In the scramble that followed,
Shanks attacked with a kimura, only to lose position. Reed made the
most out of it by bouncing back on the feet and going after a
bulldog choke. Shanks kept his calm demeanor, where he escaped the
submission attempt and retaliated with a rear-naked choke of his
own. While “The Apocalypse” only managed to squeeze with one arm,
Reed was forced to tap at the 3:41 mark of the opening stanza.
After missing to hit the featherweight division’s limit by .6
pounds, Tom Mearns
(9-7, 3-5 CW) outpointed Orlando
Wilson Prins (2-1, 0-1 CW) on all three scorecards in their
147-pound catchweight affair (29-28, 29-28, 29-28); 170-pounder
Oban
Elliott (5-2, 5-2 CW) induced a tap from Herkus
Lukosiunas (2-1, 0-1 CW) due to rear-naked choke 2:37 into the
opening period; the featherweight matchup between George
Tanasa (2-2-1, 0-0-1 CW) and Scott
Pedersen (1-3-1, 1-2-1 CW) ended in a technical unanimous draw
after referee Rich
Mitchell took two points from Tanasa due to an illegal knee
that forced the fight to a judges’ decision midway through Round
3.